THIS unique, but worthless, “Sea of Histories,” comprises accounts of the Asiatic monarchies. The volume is an autograph, in the library of the Nawáb of Tonk, with many marginal notes, also apparently in the handwriting of the author, containing some additional information on the meagre histories in the text.

As the preface to the first book is not contained within this volume, we are left in ignorance of the author's name, object and authorities. He was most probably an Indian, as he deals at dis­proportionate length with the History of India, which, however, is carried down only to the reign of Jahángír. It is evident that the volume is imperfect in this portion, and that all that follows in the book, as at present bound, originally belonged to the first volume, which begins just as the second volume closes, with an im­perfect sentence. From his history of the Emperors of Turkey, it appears that the author visited Mecca on a pilgrimage in the year 1160 A.H. (1747 A.D.), which is all that we learn of him in the course of the work. As the second book contains a short preface, which was wanting in the first, the ignorant binder has given it the precedence, and thus transposed the proper order.

From this preface we learn that the second book was com­menced in the year 1099 A.H. (1687-8), a date which might be open to doubt, were it not twice repeated in the preface, in which also several other corresponding dates are given confirmative of this. The work is, nevertheless, carried down beyond the time of Nádir Sháh's invasion of India, and the date of 1154 A.H. (1741 A.D.) is twice distinctly quoted towards the end. These passages, as well as the marginal notes, may have been added by some other hand, but there is an appearance of uni­formity about the work which does not appear to warrant this inference, and we are therefore led to the conclusion, that the author lived to an old age, and was engaged upon the revision of this work for more than half a century. The passage, more­over, in which the writer states that he visited Mecca in 1160 A.H., seems evidently written by the same person who wrote the beginning of the volume. This compilation is divided into detached chapters, one being devoted to each separate dynasty, and the disregard of order is of course chiefly attributable to the mistake in the binding.